were short, barely longer than a Norman’s eyeteeth, much less threatening than Vanessa’s and the other vampires’ fangs had been.
Solomon wasn’t the first vampire I’d seen in person, but he was the first good one I knew. Yet, as he continued smiling, my stomach tightened more with fear.
Rina joined him at the door, winding her arm with his. Mom stepped behind her, and Tristan and I stood behind Mom. Tristan took my hand as Owen led us through the door and down a short hallway. Seeing Mom alone between Solomon and Rina and Tristan and me made my heart ache for her. She’d given up any chance for a real mate—one who could handle her love and passion—to stay with me in the normal world. She’d had a handful of Norman boyfriends throughout my childhood, but none could give her true companionship. Even if she could have revealed her true identity, they would have never understood . . . and never survived.
We stopped at a doorway as Owen stepped inside and announced the matriarch’s entry. Wood scraped against stone—the sound of people rising to their feet—and then silence reigned. Rina and Solomon led us inside. Pillars lined the long sides of the rectangular room and on the walls at each end hung a large, ornate cross centered between two angels. But not peaceful, praying angels or cute cherubs—these angels brandished swords, daggers, and other weapons, their expressions fierce and their muscles large and defined, as if tensed for a fight.
At the center of the room stood a giant, round, wooden table with throne-like seats surrounding it. In front of all but five chairs stood an Amadis council member, their heads bowed. Rina and Solomon led us to the empty seats. Solomon sat on Rina’s left and Mom on her right. Mom and Tristan indicated I was to sit between them. Owen stood behind me. I felt as though I sat at King Arthur’s Round Table right in the middle of Athena’s temple.
As soon as the five of us took our seats, everyone else sat down, too.
Rina launched the meeting with a prayer, followed by swearing Charlotte in as “the second’s chosen confidante.” I’d gone through the Ang’dora and also had Tristan by my side, so Mom no longer needed to give me her full-time attention and protection. She would become a more permanent fixture on the council and, apparently, had chosen Char to be her personal advisor. Rina then introduced me to the council and Tristan officially as a member of the royal family. As soon as she said this, the room temperature seemed to drop a degree or two while the air thickened. I thought I’d imagined it until—
“Ms. Katerina,” murmured a man across the table from me. Well, not a man. A vampire, with dark, shoulder-length hair swept back from his lovely face, and an accent that rolled the “r” in a way that would make most women’s thighs tense.
“Yes, Armand?”
“Are you sure—”
Rina didn’t let him finish. “I am aware of your feelings. You have made them clear to me. And yes, I am sure. Do not forget we have given you a second chance.”
Armand pursed his lips and stared at the wooden table. Rina had effectively silenced him. The tension remained in the air, however, and I had a feeling Armand wasn’t the only one who had an issue with Tristan and his place at the table or in the family. Whoever I’d heard in the village was definitely one of these people at this table. I scanned the unfamiliar faces until my eyes landed on one I had seen before—the first guy, the blond shifter, who had called Tristan a traitor. His dark eyes narrowed at me for a brief moment. It was time I went to work.
But Rina immediately distracted me when she mentioned a coronation ceremony—as in the official crowning of Tristan and me. In front of a crowd of strangers. My insides squirmed. The conversation didn’t last long, but my stomach still spasmed as Rina moved on to the next subject.
“Are there any regional updates since our last meeting two days ago?” she asked.
A woman of Asian descent, wearing a silver kimono and a ridiculous green hat the Queen of England would admire, stood first and delivered her report. I listened, taking time to become acclimated to the council before starting my task. That was my excuse anyway, but to be honest, nerves kept my mind from going there. The council members—not just